Holy Moley! Mega was one of my favorite download sites. How can the US Govt. arrest, charge, and seize assets from someone overseas? Big Brother is reaching out for you! Any people say that the New World Order is for conspiracy nuts.

What is truly sad is that if Meagupload was shut down, all of the legitimate files stored on it are then not accessible either.
So, was the entire file-sharing site shut down, or just the areas that had been targeted as being illegal.

Something like that is worrisome besides.

Picture this forum that allows file attachments to posts.
Some new user makes a post and attaches a music file and posts that you can now have it without having to pay for it.
But beforehand, he notifies the authorities to watch this forum for illegal file sharing.

So my question is could in possibility someone be able to shut down this forum by such actions?

I am using this only as an example of how the proposed web regulations could be used to cause major problems for legitimate sites and forums if it passed.

I am not in favor of cheating any artist out of his livelihood.
But there are artists that actually want to sell their wares directly on the web with no music companies taking the lions share of the profits and leaving the artist with starvation earnings.
Could a music company actually take legal action to prevent an artist from trying to distribute his own wares for sale?

Picture this forum that allows file attachments to posts.
Some new user makes a post and attaches a music file and posts that you can now have it without having to pay for it.
But beforehand, he notifies the authorities to watch this forum for illegal file sharing.

So my question is could in possibility someone be able to shut down this forum by such actions?

Conceivably, yeah. This is the danger; this type of legislation could jeopardize all user-generated content and sites based upon that. It's also susceptible to bogus claims used to stifle competitors and dissidents.

Keep in mind that one of the charges of conspiracy against MegaUpload is based upon the site not listing downloads that infringed upon copyright law amongst their list of the top-100 downloads. Their reasoning is circular, and something along the lines of, "Well, we just know that this site is a den of no-good pirates, so if they don't list pirated films, albums, etc. in their top-100 list then they must be lying to us!" It's in the conspiracy-theorist-esque tradition of using an absence of evidence as if it were evidence.

Once that puts things into perspective, and if you recall the MPAA and RIAA's penchant for pulling financial numbers (revenue lost, value per file, economic worth of large content corporations, etc.) out of thin air, then it doesn't seem like a very big stretch that they could try something like what you mention.

Whether or not that tactic would work legally is another matter, but these two bills , SOPA/PIPA, along with all the others like them that we've seen and will undoubtedly see again, have a tremendous potential for misuse and abuse, regardless. That on top of the DMCA-based abuses we've already seen used to stifle criticism and critique of businesses and products.

EDIT: It should be noted that the MegaUpload takedown was carried out under existing law, not proposed legislation. The whole mire of current and proposed copyright enforcement law and legislation is mad, just in varied flavors.
I've been reading too much news...Last edited by TheAsterisk! on Sun 22 Jan 2012, 08:24; edited 1 time in total

I still don't understand how the FBI, which is supposed to operate in the US only, can arrest people and seize assets in another country. They can't track drug money in offshore accounts but can shut down legal businesses on just a guess.

If I find a good filesharing site in Canada, I'll let the gang know -- and I'll use it too! Up to now I was using limelinx, but it's in Texas. So better be safe than sorry, I'll find somewhere else to upload the puppy material I want to share.

This post is actually not entirely political, since the Pirate Party of Canada has set-up a torrent distiribuation system, called CapTain, for artists using Creative Commons licence. I've left them a message asking if they'd consider dsitributing GPL-branded distros such as Puppy derivatives. I'lll let you know their answer ASAP.

Big Corporate, in the guise of the US government, of both persuasions, is hell-bent on destroying the US for its people and business.

I note, in that article, that the US is threatening to use trade as a weapon for recalcitrant countries.
Bi-lateral trade is now, as far as the US is concerned, becoming a one-way street.. inbound.
The world doesn't want to know the US anymore, except for the goods it can sell into the US.
Worldwide sales of brands like Motorola have dropped through the floor.

Sadly, it is always the people who suffer._________________There's no place like 127.0.0.1

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